Fanfare for the Common Moron

"What happens if we leave the EU?" and "What is Brexit?" were top search terms.

In the wee hours of Friday morning, the people of the UK voted to leave the European Union with a majority of 52 percent—and according to Google, they don't really know why. Two hours after the referendum polls closed, roughly midnight UK time, the Google Trends Twitter account reported a 250 percent increase in people searching "what happens if we leave the EU." "Are we in or out of the EU?" spiked by 2,450 percent.

Other search terms that peaked following the result include "what happens to foreigners if we leave the EU," "what happens if we stay in the EU," and—perhaps most worryingly considering the gravity of the decision—"what is Brexit?"

Earlier in the evening, the top search in Sunderland (one of the first cities to declare its results) was "How do I vote in the EU referendum?"

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As a public service, let me add that the answer to "Is Nigel Farage really going to build an Atlantic Wall and make Mexico pay for it?" is "No".

10 comments:

And the "Remain" or "Leave" campaign has been going on for how many months now at high volume? Right, mate, let's go out and vote on something we haven't a clue about and then stop in the local for a pint on the way home. Jesus H. Christ in a bowler hat and cane!

Trust in Democracy. The British people had an opportunity to vote on a complex and consequential issue affecting their lives. And remember most of the prognostication around Brexit is propaganda (especially the notion that the British are too ignorant for self-rule). The upshot of the voters' decision will be born out over time. Trust in Democracy.

An important thing to remember is Brexit is a non-binding referendum. Parliament can nix Britain's EU exit by voting against the result. Actual EU exit, if it goes forward, is going to take years. A 52 percent majority can evaporate overnight over the smallest of things.

Farage admitting on national TV so quickly that it was all BS to win elections may blow a huge hole in public support going forward. The bigoted, uninformed rubes don't mind being used, but you can't laugh at them about it in front of the liberals.

To be fair, there are tons of unanswered questions about what a 'Leave' vote really meant. The pro-Leave faction, Nigel Farage in particular, was less-than-honest about the consequences in the run-up to the vote.

Also, many of the TV talking heads were fomenting the uncertainty and probably played a role in driving the web traffic.

I have no answer to those in Sunderland not knowing how to vote. But on most else, I'd say the UK stupid parade is pretty much like a US stupid parade, except that over there the parade was led by PM David Cameron.

Eh? I'm getting a barrage of emails from various financial institutions. Most of them are saying: wait and see. This ain't the final word; Parly may override the vote; and if it does go forward, it'll take years (as stated by others above).

I'm clueless how the UK will proceed from here, but I'm not totally convinced that they'll actually exit the EU in the end. With the pound Sterling down to almost nothing... well, maybe now's a good time to book a quick trip to London.